By Krystal Moralee

“It takes a village, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”

Those words from Lakena Hammond, program manager of The Harbor Street Outreach Program (SOP), are not just a sentiment. They reflect the daily reality of the program. On any given day, her team is out in the community, meeting young people where they are, whether on the streets, in parks, at schools or at local events. Their goal is to ensure that no young person feels unseen, unheard or without options.

That work is sustained by a network of support. Through a recent $30,000 grant from the Community Foundation, made possible by the generosity of our donors, The Harbor SOP is able to continue serving at-risk youth during a time of significant funding uncertainty.

Since 2007, the SOP has been the only comprehensive street-based outreach effort for runaway, homeless and street-involved youth in the community. Outreach staff provide crisis intervention, counseling, hygiene supplies, food, clothing and connections to safe shelter. They also offer something less tangible but equally vital: someone trustworthy to talk to.

“We want them to know we’re here before the crisis happens and if they never need us, that’s great,” Hammond said.

Last year alone, the Harbor SOP conducted 293 outreach events, provided basic needs items to 233 youth and worked closely with 45 young people through individualized service plans. Each interaction is an opportunity not only to meet immediate needs, but to build a relationship that could change the course of a young person’s life.

That consistency has become even more critical as funding landscapes shift. A 50% reduction in federal support forced the program to scale back, reducing staff from four outreach workers to two and eliminating the vehicle they once used to connect with youth across the region. The Community Foundation’s grant has helped stabilize the program during this transition, allowing staff to maintain a steady presence.

Even with fewer resources, the outreach continues. Staff attend community events, handing out small trinkets like sunglasses, notebooks or bubbles as invitations to connect. These simple gestures offer ways to start a conversation with a young person who might otherwise keep walking, and bear the outreach’s phone number, should someone ever need it.

“I was a little worried with the budget cuts,” Hammond said. “How were we going to get the kids to talk to us?”

The answer, in part, has come through the continued support of the community.

The Harbor SOP builds on a legacy that stretches back decades. Founded in 1978, The Harbor has grown from a small shelter for runaway youth into a comprehensive support system serving young people across St. Clair, Sanilac and Huron counties. The relationship between The Harbor and the Community Foundation also goes back decades, including purchasing the house for Wings of the Harbor in 2004 and gifting it outright to them in 2018.

The addition of the Street Outreach Program in 2007 extended that mission beyond walls and into the community, reaching youth who may never step through the doors of a traditional service agency.

Today, that outreach remains a lifeline. Staff connect youth to emergency shelter, assist families in accessing benefits, and help young people obtain essentials they may not have at home.

“They know they can come to us and we can help them out with that,” Hammond said. “Whether you have a felony or a spotless record, we don’t care. We don’t treat you any differently than anyone else.”

It is quiet, often unseen work, but it is also a deeply human mission built on the belief that every young person deserves stability and dignity.

And it is work that depends on a village, made up in part by the selfless outreach team and in part by the people who help in other ways. Through the Community Foundation and our donors, that village grows stronger, ensuring that The Harbor SOP can continue showing up, day after day, for the youth who need it most.

To learn more about how you can support this and other important programs in our community, visit https://stclairfoundation.org/ and consider making a gift. Together, we can ensure that every young person has someone in their corner and a path toward something better.